Coffee Startup Aims at Starbucks in China

Coffee Startup Aims at Starbucks in China

Luckin Coffee plans to open 2,500 new shops across China in 2019 and, in the process, pass Starbucks as the largest retail coffee vendor in a nation rapidly embracing its newfound coffee culture.

Yang Fei, Luckin’s chief marketing officer, made the announcement Thursday to reporters during a Beijing press conference, according to media reports.

Opening 2,500 new outlets in a year would be a large undertaking for any company. It’s noteworthy here because Luckin Coffee only began operations a year ago and already operates in 2,000 locations. Its total target of 4,500 stores by the end of the year would easily surpass Starbucks 3,600 count.

“What we want at the moment is scale and speed,” Yang Fei said. “There’s no point talking about profit.”

Reaching profitability may take some time. The company reported $116 million in losses last year, according to a Reuters report, which Fei said was expected amid the aggressive expansion. Luckin, backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd and China International Capital Corp Ltd, was valued at $2.2 billion after raising $200 million in additional funding a month ago.